Yesterday, the president of Sierra Exportadora, Alfonso Velasquez, who is in Chile where he participated in the 2014 Berries Conference, said that Peru had already reached the 1,000 hectares of blueberries and that they expect to reach 1,500 hectares later this year.
Velasquez said Peru had 900 acres of blueberries up until June this year and that they only had 10 acres devoted to this fruit in 2011.
Meanwhile, Felipe Rosas, international consultant for Sierra Exportadora, said that these 1,000 hectares of blueberries could generate exports worth USD 300 million in the medium term the 1,000 hectares of blueberries could generate exports worth USD 300 million.
Currently, La Libertad is the region that has the largest planted area with 749 hectares, followed by Ancash (86 hectares); Lambayeque (51 hectares) and Lima (46.5 hectares). In addition, 89% of the planted crops are in the coastal area and 11% in the mountainous areas.
According to Sierra Exportadora's Peru Berries Program, an acre of blueberries currently yields between 8,000 and 10,000 pounds. Estimates are these yields will increase.
Russia
The effects of the veto imposed by Russia on the imports of food from the United States and Europe were discussed at the 2014 Berries Conference, which was held at the Casino de Talca Hotel.
Vladimir Senin, CEO of Mushroom-Tradition, a company that specializes in marketing of berries and frozen mushrooms in supermarkets and network shops in St. Petersburg and other Russian cities, was responsible for presenting the information on the Russian market.
Source: gestion.pe